1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image mapping systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to blending imagery in a geographical mapping environment.
2. Description of Related Art
Imagery taken by satellites, planes and other sources has long been used to provide visual information about the earth. Recently, dramatic improvements in computer processing power and broadband streaming technology have lead to the development of interactive systems for navigating imagery (e.g., map imagery). Some interactive map navigation systems provide a user interface (“UI”) with navigation controls for dynamically navigating cities, neighborhoods and other terrain in three dimensions. The navigation controls enable users to tilt, pan, rotate, zoom and activate terrain and buildings for different perspectives at a point of interest. An example of an interactive 3D map system for navigating Earth imagery is Google Earth™ developed by Google Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.).
The production imagery used by interactive map navigation systems is typically derived by processing large pieces of geo-located imagery or “assets.” Such assets can be taken from a single pass of a satellite, airplane or other airborne platform, or can be stitched together from multiple aerial images. Once the assets are processed, they can be moved to datacenters where it can be distributed to client devices.
Different assets may have different resolutions and/or may be captured at different points in time. Large quantities of new assets are collected on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately, processing such assets can be a complex and time consuming process. Furthermore, image storage and database maintenance may be problematic due to an ever-expanding amount of assets. Aspects of the present invention address these and other problems.